New York, January 27, 2009 – Judith A. Calogero, 51, former New York State Commissioner of the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the New York Housing Conference, a broad-based coalition of nonprofit and profit-motivated developers, owners, managers, professionals, and funders of affordable housing whose goal is decent affordable housing for all New Yorkers.  Her appointment was announced at the NYHC/NHC 35^th Anniversary Luncheon, a key platform for the affordable housing cause attended by over 1,100 leaders in the industry.

 

Ms. Calogero’s appointment, effective January 1, fills the leadership vacancy left in 2007 with the passing of NYHC Founder Clara Fox.  Ms. Fox, a tireless advocate for affordable housing for low-income families, had guided the organization from its inception in 1973.

 

Ms. Calogero said, “I’m honored to serve as the new chief executive of the New York Housing Conference.  Now, more than ever, there is a need for affordable housing.  There is no better way to jump start America’s troubled economy than to create housing which in turn creates jobs and vital infrastructure improvements.  My primary mission will be to stimulate legislation on the federal, state and local levels to spur housing and community development in New York.”

 

An experienced private sector and government service professional, Ms. Calogero is a lifetime career advocate for affordable housing.  In addition to her position as Commissioner of the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, she served most recently as the Northeast Director of RBC Capital Markets, Tax Credit Equity Group, supervising the origination of affordable housing, historic and solar tax credit investments for the bank.

 

John Kelly, NYHC Co-chair and Partner with Nixon Peabody, LLP, said, “We intend to make the most of Judy’s expertise and her knowledge of government housing policy.  The need for workforce housing in New York is unprecedented in recent memory.  Judy is eminently qualified to find the ways and means to achieve our goals.”

 

Carol Lamberg, NYHC Co-chair and Executive Director of Settlement Housing Fund, added, “Actions are urgently needed to expand existing affordable housing programs, for example, Section 8 housing vouchers for low-income families.  Judy has the drive to convince lawmakers that the Section 8 program could be expanded to provide hundreds of thousands of additional vouchers for low-income renters, including project based vouchers.  Moreover, hard-working Section 8 families should pay twenty-five percent of their income for rent, instead of the presently mandated thirty percent for federal, state and local programs.”

 

Ms. Calogero is also a member of several boards and professional associations, including The College of Saint Rose, Albany; The New York State Association for Affordable Housing, and the Glens Falls (NY) Industrial Development Agency.  She received a B.A. in Sociology/Social Work from the College of Saint Rose, and an M.S. degree in Urban and Environmental Studies from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

 

Founded in 1973, the New York Housing Conference (NYHC) joined the National Housing Conference as its first regional affiliate in 1976.  NYHC advocates for the housing needs of New Yorkers through affordable housing legislation with adequate funding and workable regulations.  The organization also promotes increased public awareness of the need for and benefit of affordable housing in New York.  www.thenyhc.org

 

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